September 19, 2023 NewsOrient

By Emeka Nwosu, PhD.

The Abia Tower of Peace which is a major landmark in Abia State is located in Umuahia at the intersection where Enugu -Port Harcourt Expressway meets Umuahia-Owerri Highway. It was constructed way back in 1992 during the short-lived administration of the first civilian Governor of Abia State, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu. It was conceived as a key tourist attraction at the entry point into the capital city of Umuahia.

The Tower was generally welcomed and appreciated by the public for its sheer beauty which added to the aesthetics of the State capital. For first time travelers or visitors to Abia State, the Tower stands out prominently as a helpful landmark from where they can take their bearing.

It is important to note that the Tower sits at a very vital position on the ever busy Enugu-Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway and Umuahia-Owerri Highway where huge vehicular and human traffic is recorded on a daily basis. In recent times, the place has become notorious for traffic snarls that usually turn into gridlocks during festive seasons like Easter, Christmas and New Year.

In the last ten years, the Abia Tower has become synonymous with suffocating and choking traffic congestions that try the souls of men. Travelers who have had the misfortune of being trapped there have bitter stories to tell. Such unfortunate motorists and passengers have been compelled by the situation to either sleep inside their cars or abandon them to seek refuge elsewhere for fear of being attacked by hoodlums.

This despicable situation has continued to defy succeeding Governors of the State who did little or nothing to address the problem. Now that Governor Alex Otti has come up with the commendable plan to open up Umuahia with the expansion of the main approach road into the city centre from the Tower into six lanes, the gridlock may become compounded if no deliberate step is taken to solve the problem once and for all.

There are suggestions that the road expansion should be extended beyond the Tower to the Abia-Imo border at the Imo River Bridge in Ekenobizi with a flyover at the present location of the Tower which will take traffic direct into Umuahia town from the Amachara axis. This will ensure that traffic coming from either the direction of Enugu or Port Harcourt would move freely under the flyover without being held down by traffic from Owerri axis or opposite direction.

With the proposed flyover, the Tower can be relocated from its present site to the Abia-Imo boundary on the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway at Nunya near Ofeme.

This would further help to open up the Ofeme-Nkwoegwu flank of Umuahia for governmental development. This will definitely go a long way in decongesting Umuahia town which, due to poor urban planning and unregulated developments, is already bursting at the seams.
The construction of the flyover also has the potential of spurring developments, including commercial and industrial activities along the Ohiya-Ubakala corridor. The implication is that with a meticulous and careful execution of these laudable projects, Umuahia would become transformed into a mega city befitting its status as a capital city of God`s own State.

There may be funding challenges, no doubt. But it is said that where there is a will, there is a way. All that Governor Otti needs to do is to demonstrate the political will required to take the first step. As a banker of note, he can leverage on his extensive contacts in the financial world to attract the requisite funds to actualize these projects and make Abia a livable and prosperous State.

Once the State is opened up with good infrastructure, investors both foreign and local, would be motivated to come in and complement the efforts of the Governor.

A similar situation is already playing out in Anambra under the watch of Professor Chukwuma Soludo who recently organized the first ever Anambra International Investment Summit.

At the end of the summit, the State signed several MOUs covering so many important areas, including the establishment of industrial parks, railway lines connecting the main cities of Onitsha, Awka, Nnewi and Ekwulobia, a brand new city in Awka with most modern infrastructure, and the dredging of Onitsha River Port to enable barges bring in goods direct to Onitsha.

These projects that are worth several billions of Naira and Dollars are expected to come on board in the next four years. I believe that Dr. Otti has the vision and capacity to re-enact the same experience in Abia State with the support and encouragement of all the well-meaning people of the State. With what Otti is set to do in Abia, and what Soludo is already doing in Anambra, peer review appear to be the best way to go for all the Governors of Southeast if they are to deliver concrete developments to the people of the region.

Tackling and resolving the perennial traffic gridlock at the Abia Tower in Umuahia is a starting point for the Otti administration which, in my considered opinion, will open up the State for investments in the critical areas of need.

Dr. Emeka Nwosu, the President General of Umukabia Autonomous Community, Abia State, wrote from Abuja.

NewsOrient